Bright-Eyed Wonder
by ZackAttack96
Summary: Jenny Mills feels secure when she's with the Doctor. But when they are both thrust into the midst of a full-scale invasion, how will the Doctor react when old wounds are reopened? How will he cope with the responsibility? And will Jenny be able to come to terms with the Doctor's darker side? Eleven & OC; non-romance. Rated T for descriptive violence. Very mild language.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everybody! It's been quite a while, hasn't it? Well, for those of you joining me from Seeing Double, I must apologise to you - it has fallen through. Nearly two years on, I've lost the muse and I suspect my readers did too. So it has been shelved. However, that means I now have this lovely new story for you all. Hope you enjoy! ~ZackAttack~**

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CHAPTER ONE

"So when we stick the tip of the wire into the Bunsen burner…"

It was Friday afternoon in Chelsea Grammar School, about a minute before the final bell. By this stage, the Chemistry teacher could have had a fencing match with the year head at the front of the class and nobody would have bothered to lift their head. Yet, inexplicably, they all had to pretend to be interested in flame tests.

That is to say, _nearly_ all of them.

For Jennifer Mills, Chemistry would only cease to hold her interest once she shuffled off this mortal coil. Even then, that would only be because the gestation cycle of the various decomposer microorganisms would suddenly prove more interesting. Jenny was a born scientist, through-and-through. Since the ripe old age of six, when she marvelled at the strange fizzy result of Coca-Cola plus Mentos, Jenny knew that nothing short of an illustrious career in industrial chemistry would do. That resolve had mellowed recently to become 'biochemistry', but no matter. Jenny knew that she would take triple-award science as one of her choices at GCSE, as many science A-levels as school would allow, and then study Natural Sciences at Cambridge University with emphasis on Biology and Chemistry. Yes, she knew what she wanted, how to get there and what she needed to do.

So that is why Jenny had no trouble whatsoever in fixing her gaze on the nichrome wire now trembling two inches from a gently hissing blue Bunsen burner flame. Her pen was poised ready over her file block, ready to scribble down the colour.

_Strontium –_

"…we get this beautiful red colour."

Jenny refused to let herself gasp. No true scientist, she imagined, would actually _gasp_. It didn't stop the spectacle before her eyes from being utterly fascinating, though.

_Strontium – Red_

The harsh chatter of the bell jolted Jenny from her reverie, and she dolefully began to pack up her books and papers. The teacher looked as if he were about to make some parting remark or instruction to the class, but dismissed it as pointless and instead began to clean off the wire.

"Sir?" asked Jenny, "Can you mix the colours? Like, if you were to mix strontium and sodium salts and burn them together, would you get orange?"

The teacher paused for a moment and adjusted his glasses. "Hmm, I suppose so. You'd have to be careful what salts you picked, though, because they might displace. Just a thought."

"Displace? What do you mean?"

"You don't need to know that yet," the teacher waved. "That's next year."

"Oh come on, sir!" pressed Jenny. "Don't do this to me, please!"

The man let out a sigh he had uttered many times before on similar occasions and walked a well-rehearsed path to the cupboard. He withdrew the GCSE Chemistry textbook he kept there and held it out to Jenny, refusing to look at her.

"I _would_ like it back before registration on Monday," he said with a feigned air of annoyance.

Jenny strode out of the room, her hair billowing in her wake. "Absolutely, sir."

The path down to the bus park was practically empty after the delay, so Jenny walked along on her own, humming quietly to herself. There were several routes down to the bus park, but Jenny preferred this slightly longer one, as it took her past the sixth form garden. She liked a peek over the hedge to see what the gardener was up to.

Not much had changed over the week, apparently. Most of the plants were the same as ever. He had pruned the roses, though.

Oh no, wait, there was something new. There was a little group of stone statues standing in the corner in front of the shed. They looked like angels.

"Creepy," said Jenny to no one in particular. "Wouldn't want to meet one of those on a dark night."

She looked around the garden, wondering where on earth the gardener was going to put them. It seemed to her as if there just wasn't any room.

Jenny squinted and looked back at the statues. How many did he have to fit in? _One, two, three… _She started. There were five statues standing there, but she could have sworn that there were six a moment ago. _Where could one have gone?_

Jenny laughed at herself. It was Friday afternoon. She was going crazy, clearly. Statues don't just disappear.

She shouldered her bag and trudged off down the path. Still, Jenny couldn't shake the feeling that somebody was watching her.

* * *

Jenny's weekend was uneventful. She had a fair bit of homework and wanted to fit in that extra reading on displacement, too.

Two people disappeared over the weekend and they hadn't been found by Monday. Jenny wasn't quite sure why she cared about this particular missing persons thing. Perhaps it was that the police had absolutely no leads at all.

"There's usually something!" Jenny exclaimed to her mother during her homework.

"Oh I know, dear," said Sophie, her mother, "but maybe they've missed something."

Jenny snorted. "You'd think two days into the investigation they'd at least have an inkling."

She looked at her watch. It was past eight o'clock and still her dad wasn't home.

"Where's Dad?" Jenny asked.

Sophie nearly dropped the spoon she was holding. "What?"

"Well it's after eight and he's not home yet."

Jenny watched as her mother slowly turned round with a cheerful smile on her face. "Oh, well, he's probably just…running late or something!"

Something was wrong. Jenny could feel it, and she knew her mother could feel it too. Her dad would have called.

It was a family agreement that phones weren't to be used during homework, but Jenny quietly pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked 'Find Friends'. Her dad's phone location was unreachable.

Jenny swallowed nervously. "Mum? Dad's phone isn't on 'Find Friends'. Do you think maybe we should–?"

Sophie cut her off. "Yes. Yes I think we should probably get worried. I've tried his phone five times but it goes straight to voicemail. I'm going to call the police."

The words cut right through Jenny. It was right and proper and it was what she expected her mother to do, but nothing could have prepared her for it.

Sophie was in her husband's office so the phone call was muffled, but Jenny wasn't interested anyway.

Just then, the doorbell rang. "I've got it!" said Jenny as she sprang from her chair.

A man in a tweed jacket had his back to the door, but he spun round once Jenny answered. "Hello! Is this the Mills' house by any chance?"

"Yes…?" said Jenny tentatively. "Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor," said the man. "I'm here about your dad."

Jenny forgot herself and gasped. "But…but he…"

The Doctor frowned. "Hmm?"

"We only just rang the police! Mums still on the phone! How did you…?"

The man glanced at his watch and winced. "Oh. I'm early. Sorry. Mind if I come in?"

Without waiting for an answer, he pushed in and clomped through the hall. Jenny's head spun for a moment as she closed the door, confused. "Sorry, do you mind if I see some ID? You could be anyone!"

The Doctor spun round yet again. Clearly it was something he did a fair bit.

"Yes! Of course! Here you go." He produced a flip wallet and flashed it in front of Jenny. She snatched it and frowned.

"It's blank. Where's your ID?"

"No it's not!" exclaimed the Doctor. He snatched the wallet back and studied it. "It says here, look! Inspector John Smith."

Jenny peered at the wallet again. "It really doesn't. You've either gone mad or you think I'm stupid."

The Doctor looked perplexed and put the wallet away. "Right. That's interesting. Nobody round here has ever thought that."

"Round here? What do you mean?"

The man laughed in an attempt to dismiss the issue. "Gosh, you're perceptive, aren't you? Clever monkey! So…"

He swished away and started wandering around the kitchen. "You appear to have lost your dad, then? I lost my dad when I was quite young."

"Oh really?" asked Jenny politely. "How old were you?"

"Ooh, I was about seven hundred and something. It's not really important."

The Doctor moved swiftly on. "Quick question – what does your dad do? Where does he work?"

"In a bank in Chelsea. Quite near my school actually. He's on security…but not evenings or night shifts. He should have been home about two and a half…three hours ago."

"Right. And does this bank have gargoyles or statues or anything? Sculptures? Anything like that?"

Jenny considered. "No. Don't think so. There's engraving in the pediment but they're not statues. Why?"

The Doctor looked cryptic. "No reason. Don't worry about it."

"No, it's just because school just got new garden ornaments. They were statues of angels. Is that important?"

It was as if somebody poured a bucket of ice down the Doctor's neck. "Angels? Did you say angels?"

"Yes. Why?"

He suddenly looked very serious. "Well then I think I have my answer."

Jenny looked away for only a second, and when she looked back, he was over at the door, about to leave.

"Wait!" she called and ran at him. "Do you know where my dad is?"

He stopped. "Yes. Well, maybe. Hopefully."

She lifted her thick woollen coat and scarf and began struggling into them. "Then I'm coming with you."

The Doctor looked taken aback. "Hang on, no, you can't, it's too dangerous."

Jenny was undeterred. "If you're saying that you can find my dad, then I trust you more than anybody else at the moment. The police don't seem to have a clue."

"Trusting a strange man who arrived in the dark? Bit silly?"

She shot him a withering look. "Please. You act like a seven-year-old and you tried to fob off a blank piece of paper as ID. I'm shaking in my boots."

The Doctor let out a sigh. "Fine, but don't blame me if something happens to you."

Jenny suddenly had a realisation. "Oh, wait! Mum will be wondering."

She scampered to the table and scribbled a quick message.

_Off to find Dad! Back soon. Love you xxx_

"Done. Let's go."

The pair strode purposefully down the street towards the corner. Jenny's mind was spinning as she tried to process everything that was going on. "Where are we going?" she finally asked.

"We need transport," came the reply.

"Transport?" Jenny's heart gave a lurch. "You mean Dad's far away?"

The Doctor chuckled. "You don't know the half of it."

They arrived at the end of the street outside a large blue wooden box. The Doctor began to rummage about in his pockets, presumably for a key.

"Now what?" said Jenny, exasperatedly, "We're running out of time!"

Again came the chuckle. The Doctor turned to Jenny. "Time is the least of our worries."

He flung open both doors and strutted through.

For the second time that day, Jenny found herself gasping. _This is extremely unprofessional, you know,_ muttered her subconscious. But Jenny didn't listen to her subconscious.

"It's…it's…"

"Bigger on the inside? Yes, you're not the first to mention that," said the Doctor.

Jenny slowly crossed the threshold. "A ship in a bottle. You've crammed this massive room into this small box without it being unstable. How did you manage that?"

The Doctor preened. "It would be rather complicated science, actually."

A frown. "Try me."

"Well. The console room is actually in another dimension. Both of us, right now, are standing _in – another – dimension_!"

Jenny considered for a moment and then nodded her head slowly. "Got it. So we actually crossed between dimensions when we entered the box?"

The Doctor blinked. "Um…yes. Yes, we…did." _How in the name of Gallifrey did she actually understand that? Impressive._

Jenny glided up the ramp and circumnavigated the console, taking everything in. "So, if we're in another dimension with that door serving as the link, that must take a lot of power, right? I take it this thing doesn't run on unleaded?"

"The power source is actually an exploding star. It's suspended in the act of exploding, right in the middle of the TARDIS. That's what we're standing in right now, by the way. A TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimension In Space."

"Oh, I see, so it's a time machine? Cool." Jenny seemed for all the world completely nonplussed.

The Doctor strode up the ramp until he was level with her. "No, see, that's not how it works! You're not meant to just…believe me! You're meant to be amazed!" He pouted. "Everyone else was."

Jenny rounded on him. "Well forgive me for being a little preoccupied at the moment!" she snapped. "I'd really rather just get my father back."

The man winced. Of course she was right.

"Ah. Yes, sorry. Completely understand."

She stood, arms folded, tapping her foot. "Any time today would be nice."

The Doctor sprung into action. "Today wouldn't be much use for this one, I'm afraid!"

He darted to the console and thrust the space/time throttle aggressively forwards, dumping the engine release lever as he did so. Jenny was thrown sideways against the guard rail and let out a yelp, then began to laugh.

"It's quite a ride!" she yelled.

"I think there's a word you're searching for," said the Doctor. "Geronimo!"

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**Reviews much appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Happy Easter holidays! So my sincere apologies that it took this long to produce an update. Revision for exams and whatnot. It is my hope that updates will be more forthcoming in future.**

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CHAPTER TWO

Jenny lay slumped against the guardrail, slightly out of breath. "So you mean to tell me that this fancy time machine can't fly a little smoother?"

The Doctor was beaming from ear to ear. "Ah, but where would be the fun in that? Much more enjoyable this way, don't you think?"

"No!" came the reply. "I think it would be an awful lot more enjoyable to sort of glide along and gently come to a stop at your destination."

"That's more enjoyable if you're old and boring." The Doctor looked Jenny straight in the eye from close range. "Do you want to be old and boring?"

"Old and boring sometimes works a heck of a lot better than new and exciting, you know. I mean, isn't vinyl far better than CD? Isn't the Titanic still the most luxurious cruise ship that was ever built?" Sometimes Jenny surprised _even_ herself with her eloquence.

Evidently, the Doctor was slightly taken aback, too. "Er, well, that last bit isn't strictly true if you're speaking from the thirtieth Century. There was this one ship–"

"Why are we even having this discussion?" exclaimed Jenny, her voice rising. "My _dad_ is out there somewhere. We're wasting time!"

The Doctor was striding towards the doors, but paused and turned slowly. "I _think_ you'll find that time is the least of our worries."

He opened the doors with a flourish and, almost theatrically, lightning lit up the entrance with harsh white light.

Outside, the weather was horrendous. Rain sheeted down from the sky and the pavements were deserted. The trees lining the street were being shaken violently by the gusts of wind howling around the buildings and rushing down the road.

Jenny eyed it all with disdain. "You're saying we have to go out in that?" she yelled over the noise of the storm.

"Do you want to find your dad or not?" retorted the Doctor. "I'm afraid the TARDIS doesn't work very well as a car!"

"But where do we even start?" moaned Jenny. "Where even are we?"

The Doctor checked his watch. "We're exactly where we left! We've just gone forty years into the past!"

The girl was taken aback. "Forty years in the past?" she repeated. "What's happened to Dad?"

"The Weeping Angels…they don't kill you like any other evil creature. They feed off potential energy – the could-have-beens, the never-weres. They sent your dad back in time to feed off the energy of the life he could have had."

Jenny's eyes widened. "Wait a second! The life he _could_ have had? Do you mean we can't save him?"

The Doctor shook his head vigorously. "No no, we can still save him, if we're quick. Come on!"

He grabbed her hand and pulled her out into the rain, the doors crashing shut behind them. Another flash of lightning cut through the sky.

"How do we find him, though? This is London, at night, in the pouring rain! Everyone's indoors!"

The Doctor surveyed the scene. "Well tell me this. If it's the middle of the night in the pouring rain…" He pointed. "…then what's _that_ guy doing running down the street with no coat?"

Jenny couldn't quite believe it. Could it really be that easy? Didn't they have to try and track him down for days and days, chasing up leads and finding dead ends before they eventually did find him? It looked like him, but it wasn't her dad, surely?

"It _is_ my dad!" she exclaimed. She started pelting down the street towards the man, dragging the Doctor behind him. "Dad! Dad!"

The man stopped and anxiously scanned the street before him. "Jenny?"

There were only ten metres between them when it happened. A third jagged lightning bolt split the heavens just as a gust of wind blew the rain into their faces. Jenny was momentarily blinded. Her dad shielded his eyes with an arm. Even the Doctor wiped his eyes.

It was only a moment. But a moment was enough.

In an instant, Jenny heard a strangled cough, and her heart lurched when she saw her dad again. An angel had him in a headlock, a twisted snarl on its face.

The Doctor reacted quickly. "Keep your eyes on it! Don't blink or he's dead!"

Jenny felt sick in the very pit of her stomach, but forced herself to stare at the angel with a vicious ferocity. "What do we do? _What do we do?_" she screamed.

The Time Lord swallowed. "What's your dad's name, Jenny?"

She tried to answer. She really tried, but the words just couldn't get past the lump at the back of her throat. So her dad answered for her.

"Robert. Robert Mills," he said in calm, measured tones.

"Robert. Good name, brilliant name. Now, can you get your head out, do you think, Robert?"

The man twisted his head sideways and tried to squeeze it through the gap between the angel's forearm and chest, but it was fruitless. Robert shook his head, and said the word that nearly tore Jenny in two.

"No."

The Doctor felt himself nodding with a resigned grin on his face. "No. Of course not."

Suddenly, he lashed out at a wooden fence next to him. His boot splintered one of the boards. He felt anger course through his veins. The Time Lord swung round and strode right up to the angel's stone face.

"Why?" he snarled. "Why do this? Why toy with him? You've sent him back; you've got the energy. Why are you still _here_?"

But then the obvious answer dawned on him.

"Because _I'm_ here. Because I was about to save him, so you have to finish it. You have to make sure there isn't anything to save, and you've done it, haven't you? If I take him back, you get nothing, but if he dies here today, his life…is yours."

He backed away inch by inch until he was next to Jenny. "Jenny, we can't save him. He can't get his head out and the angel won't let him. So there's nothing more we can do. We have to blink and let him go."

"I can't do that," said Jenny with quavering voice. "I can't kill my own dad."

Robert spoke again, his voice strong. "Listen, Jenny. I can't escape this. We always knew that being a security guard might kill me, and this isn't any different. You have to be strong. It's going to be OK. Trust me. I've had my time."

Jenny let out a strangled sob. "No! Don't say that! There must be a way!"

Her dad smiled and shook his head as best he could. "There isn't, darling." He beckoned. "Come here; let me look at you one last time."

She slowly approached, eyes burning with tears. The Doctor kept the angel in an icy gaze.

Robert cupped Jenny's face in his hands. "You need to be strong, now. You need to be strong for me and for your mother. Can you do that for me, Jenny?"

"Dad, no!" she said. Robert tried to duck his head towards her earnestly, but gagged as the stone arm bit into his neck.

"Please, Jenny! Please do this for _me_."

Jenny found herself nodding, choking back the urge to vomit. The Doctor placed his hand on her shoulder and brought her back with him. Still keeping his eyes trained on the angel, the Time Lord held her head against his chest. Jenny closed her eyes.

Robert cleared his throat one last time. "I don't know who you are, sir. But you seem like a good man, and right now, I don't have much other choice. You look after my family, sir. Look after my wife and look after Jenny."

The Doctor looked him straight in the eye. "I will, Robert. I promise."

Robert nodded, lifted his head and closed his eyes. The entire world seemed to hold its breath. Even the rain had eased in anticipation.

The Doctor felt his mouth turn downwards as he closed his own eyes.

There was a soft crunch like somebody stepped on a plastic bottle. Then there was a gurgle, and a little dripping of liquid falling onto the pavement. Finally, there was a rustle of clothing and a sickening crack like a coconut on a rock.

Silence reigned over all. The Doctor opened his eyes once again and took in Robert's crumpled form. The angel had snapped his neck in a vicious rotation of the head. His chest was digging into the pavement but the back quarter of his head was in contact with the flagstones. A trickle of blood and sputum weaved from the corner of Robert's mouth and dripped slowly onto the pavement. It was a grisly sight to behold.

The Doctor felt Jenny try to move her head but hugged it closer to his chest. "No, don't look. I promised to look after you and this is step one. You can't see him like this."

Jenny nodded slowly and rested her head back against his chest. Somehow the grief had been sucked out of her, leaving her feeling empty and cold inside. She suspected it would hit her hard later, but almost felt guilty that she felt nothing.

"Can we go?" she asked simply.

The Doctor pressed the TARDIS key into her hand. "Go and let yourself in. I'll be along in a moment."

* * *

Across town, an undertaker was applying varnish to a mahogany coffin when the doorbell rang. "We're closed!" he called. "Come back tomorrow."

"It can't wait!" came the muffled voice.

The man sighed and put down the varnish. "All right, all right…" he breathed, and opened the door.

The Doctor stood on the doorstep, Robert's limp form over his shoulder. The Time Lord was exhausted, having carried the man over a mile.

The undertaker's eyes widened. "I'm not a young man, sir, and I've seen many things in my time, but this has to be the first time somebody's carried a corpse to my door."

They laid Robert on the slab and looked him over. "I found him lying on the pavement about a mile from here," said the Doctor. "Looks like his neck was broken."

"You're not kidding," muttered the man. "Well, I'll report this to the police and look for family. He'll get a dignified burial, sir, I can assure you."

"I'm very glad to hear that," said the Doctor.

* * *

The moment Jenny sat down on the jumpseat, the realisation hit home. She was fatherless and her mother was a widow. It was such a simple statement, and yet it touched her so deeply that it threatened to break her spirit. She felt adrenaline shoot through her like a lightning bolt – she would never see her father again. He wouldn't see her go to university, or get married, or have a family.

That was when the grief hit, and it hit Jenny like an articulated lorry. She pulled her legs up onto the jumpseat, rolled sideways and howled. She felt the tears run down her cheek and soak into her jumper. Her sorrow gushed out of her like a typhoon. A gaping great hole had opened up in her heart – a dad-shaped hole – and its jagged edges gnashed at her thoughts. All the emotion welled up until her heart couldn't bear any more, and still it came. She was completely overwhelmed and helpless and devoid of any other thought. Jenny tried to tell herself that it was all a dream and that she would awake from this nightmare soon enough, but _no, it's not a dream_, came the whisper from her subconscious, _you'll never wake up from this one; it's all real and he's never coming back_. Sentient thought process made way for disjointed, garbled firings as Jenny lost her grasp on the cogwheels of her mind. She felt her whole head spin and cried out as wave after wave of thought and emotion and…anger.

That third emotion had remained a mystery before, but it now reared its twisted, spiteful head. Jenny was intensely angry with the Weeping Angels for snatching her father away. Regaining intelligence for a moment, she pieced together the snippets of information the Doctor had uttered. The angels feed on time energy; by killing her dad, they free up a lot of time energy; _ergo_, they killed her dad for food. But why _her_ dad? Jenny couldn't fathom an explanation. It all seemed random. Robert Mills was not an extraordinary man. He was a security guard who worked in a bank, so unless the angels felt snubbed by the recent economic meltdown or else resented authority, there was no logical reason.

Jenny surprised herself by sitting upright and engaging in deep contemplation. There had to be a reason; she just couldn't see it. Perhaps the Doctor would know.

As the saying goes, the very devil of whom she was speaking emerged through the wooden doors, concern plastered all over his features. "Jenny, I don't know what–"

"Why him?" Jenny demanded, cutting him short. The Doctor blinked, entirely taken aback.

"What? Aren't you…er…I mean, your dad…" he stumbled, lost for words.

"Yes, yes, I know," snapped Jenny, "but answer my question. Why Robert Terence Mills? Out of every single citizen of the Earth, why pick him?"

The Doctor considered. "I don't know. I really don't know." But then something clicked in his head. A possibility. Could it be the case?

"No, I don't know," he said finally.

Jenny sighed. "Fair enough. So are you going to look after me, then?"

"Naturally," said the Time Lord matter-of-factly. "I made a promise and I intend to keep my word."

"Good," said Jenny, "because I want a proper ride in this TARDIS of yours. Where can we go? _When_ can we go to?"

"Anywhere and any_when_ you like!" said the Doctor, filled with enthusiasm. But it sputtered a little. "Wait a moment. You just lost your _father_. Are you sure you're OK? I mean, don't you want more time to…come to terms with it?"

Jenny shook her head. "The best thing to do is to carry on with life and to try and work out this enigma. Because there is something not quite normal about all of this, and I intend to find out why they killed my father."

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed, and please review!**


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